Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Acquired by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 22.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,488 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,480 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $7,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% in the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 400.0% during the third quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at $43,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Daiwa America cut Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.00.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $155.47 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $143.13 and a fifty-two week high of $168.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $162.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. Research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 71.78%.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.